President suspends self, govt officials from foreign trips to reduce public spending

Gambia’s President Adama Barrow has suspended himself and all government officials from foreign travel to reduce public spending, a government spokesman announced Saturday.

Barrow signed an executive order “suspending all overseas travels by the president, the vice-president, cabinet ministers, senior government officials, civil servants and employees across all government institutions and agencies,” for the rest of the fiscal year, presidential spokesman Ebrima Sankareh said in a statement.

Meetings where Gambian participation is compulsory and foreign trips entirely financed by external sources will be exempt